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The structure of a letter constitutes different parts．The arrangement of a business letter’s different parts is fixed by custom and makes a world of differences in the impression it conveys．The basic structure of a business letter may include the main parts and the optional parts．The main parts refer to those used in each kind of business letter frequently and the optional parts mean that they may appear in particular cases or seldom be used today．The main parts include letterhead，date，inside address，salutation，body of the letter，complimentary close and signature．The optional parts may include reference，attention line，subject line，enclosure，carbon copy and postscript．
The Main Parts
1．Letterhead
As the first most obvious part of a company’s business letter，letterhead has two functions：identifying where the letter comes from and forming one’s impression of the writer’s company．The letterhead contains the company’s name，address，postcode，telephone number，fax number，email address，website，etc．The printed letterhead is usually printed on the top middle of the page or on the left margin at the top of the page．Examples of letterhead are given below．
2．Date
Business letters should have the correct date typed under the letterhead．The date consists of the month，day and year．The date can be put on the left or right side of the letter（which depends on the style you decide to use），with two spaces below the last line of the letterhead．In the U．S．the standard order of the date is month，day，year，while in Britain the standard order is day，month，year．For example，
April 26 ， 2019 （ American form ）
26 April ， 2019 （ British form ）
There are three points to keep in mind about the date．
• It is unwise to abbreviate the month or show the date in figures like 26/4/2019 or 4/26/2019，because the British and the Americans don’t read the day and the month in the same order．
• Year should be typed in full and avoids abbreviation．For example，2023 can not be replaced by 23．
• Day can be written either in cardinal numbers or ordinals．Nowadays，the day is recommended to be written in cardinal numbers．
3．Inside Address
The inside address contains the name and address of the firm or the person to whom the letter is to be sent．The inside address should be as exact as it is on the envelope，so that it might not create any confusion in the mind of the clerk．The inside address should be written two spaces below the date and two spaces above the attention line，but if there is no attention line，it should be written two spaces above the salutation in the left margin．
When the receiver is a company，the inside name and address should be written as the following：
National Machinery Import ＆ Export Corp．
82 Longfusi Street
Beijing ， China
When the receiver is an individual in the company，the ordinary courtesy titles are used to address one person，such as Mr．，Mrs．，Miss or Ms．，sometimes followed by his or her position．Messrs．is also a courtesy title to be used for partnerships whose firm is named after one or more persons，as in Messrs．MacDonald ＆ Evans．For example，
Mr．John Morris
Sales Manager
London Export Corporation
152 Grower Street
England
4．Salutation
The salutation is the complimentary greeting with which the writer opens his letter．It is usually typed two spaces below the inside address or the attention line and followed by a comma，or sometimes a colon．
The choice of salutation depends upon the personal relationship between the writer and the reader and on the form of inside address．
If you write a letter to a receiver whom you don’t know well，the formal greeting would be“Dear Sir” or“Dear Madam”．If you are addressing a letter to a firm，a company，a board，a club，a society，an association，or an agency，use“Dear Sirs”．If you write to an organization that consists of only women，use the salutation“Dear Madams”．
If you write to a person that you already have his full name such as“William Smith”，you may write “Dear Mr．Smith” in a formal way．Or you write “Dear William” if you do know him well．
If you write a business letter to a lady，“Ms．” is the courtesy title regardless of her marital status．In addition，when you receive a letter，please pay attention to his or her signature．If someone prefers his or her official，political and academic position，you could reply accordingly，such as“Dr．Williams”．
5．Body of the Letter
This is the most important part of a letter．It contains the message or the information to be communicated and is placed two spaces below the subject line or often below the salutation．Lines within a paragraph should be single-spaced and double-spaced between paragraphs．Careful planning and logical arrangement are needed for the paragraphs．
It generally consists of three sections：the opening paragraph，the middle paragraphs containing the main points，and the closing paragraph．The opening paragraph should be attractive enough to attract the reader’s attention．The middle paragraphs support the first paragraph and provide more information，covering the specific issues to be settled．The closing paragraph is the summary of the letter．It should be stated clearly what action you expect the reader to take．
Business letters are usually one page long，but sometimes it is impossible to write the entire letter on one sheet of paper．When using the second or continuation sheet，“to be continued”should be typed at the bottom right of the first page．The multiple-page heading should show the receiver’s name，the page number and date．The following styles are often used for multiple-page letters．
· The Universal Trading Co． ， Ltd．-Page 2-August 8 ， 2021
· Mr．T．N．L．-2-April 10 ， 2020
· China Chemical Co．
Page 2
March 1 ， 2023
6．Complementary Close
The complimentary close is a polite way of ending a letter，the same as we say good-bye at the end of a conversation．It appears two spaces below the last line of the letter，either on the left side or the right side of the letter，depending on the style of the letter．The initial letter of the first word should be capitalized and end with a comma．
There must be a close relation between the salutation and the complementary close．The formal ones are“Yours faithfully”，“Yours truly”，or“Faithfully yours”．The less formal ones are“Yours sincerely”，or“Sincerely yours” and so on．You may also end with “Best regards” or“Best wishes” if you know the person well．
7．Signature
The signature is the signed name of the writer，which is placed just below the complimentary close．If the writer signs on his own responsibility，only the personal name and title are required．If the writer represents his company，the company’s name appears first，followed by the writer’s signature．A letter should be signed by hand in black or blue ink，followed by the person’s name typed to make the name legible to the readers．Below the writer’s typed name is his job title or position．For example，
Yours faithfully ，
Ciba-Geigy Chemicals Co．
（ Signature ）
John Smith
Sales Manager
Such an employee will put “per pro” or“PP” before the company’s name and sign below it．Per pro is the abbreviated form of “per procurationem”，a Latin phrase meaning of which is“agency”or“on behalf of”．For example，
Yours truly ，
Per Pro QAD Software Co．
（ Signature ）
Jack Brown
President
The Optional Parts
1．Reference
The reference number is usually made out by the writer for filing．Reference enables both the sender and the receiver of the letter to find it out easily if an emergency arises．Reference may include a file number，departmental code，or the initials of the signer，followed by that of the typist of the letter．It is placed below the letterhead or on the left margin with one or two-line space below the signature．For example，
Your Ref ： CNN/011
Our Ref ： 12345/XY
2．Attention Line
The attention line or the phrase“for the attention of” is used when the writer of a letter addressed to an organization wishes to direct it to a particular person or official．The attention line appears two spaces below the inside address and two spaces above the salutation．Some examples are given below．
Attention ： Mr．David Smith ， Sales Manager
ATTN ： Mr．David Smith ， Sales Manager
For the attention of Mr．David Smith ， Sales Manager
Attention ： Importing Department
3．Subject Line
The subject line is used to let the reader know immediately what the message is about．It is introduced by the word “Subject：” or“Sub：” or“Re．”．Usually，only a very short phrase is needed，such as the type of product，L/C number and sales contract number．It is typed two lines below the salutation．The following forms are commonly used．
Subject ： Supply of books
Sub ： Payment of Bill No-P/945 of 26 April ， 2022
Re ： Sales Confirmation No．2536
4．Enclosure
If there are any documents，catalogs，price lists，etc．，to be attached to the letter，it must be indicated against the enclosure line which is typed two spaces below the signature．Generally，“Enclosure” or its abbreviated form“Encl．” is typed against which the number of enclosures is indicated．For example，
Enclosures 3 samples
Encl． ： 1 price list
Encl． ： 2 invoices
5．Carbon Copy
Carbon copy is usually abbreviated as“CC” or“cc”．When you send a copy of the letter to more than one person dealing with sales to a particular customer，place a notation directly two lines below the enclosure．If there is no enclosure，type it two lines below the signature．For example，
CC The Osaka Chamber
cc Mr．Copper and Mr．Lamper
If the sender of the letter does not wish the receiver to know that other people are receiving copies of the letter，a blind copy is sent．Where this is the case，use the short form of “bcc”，short for blind carbon copy on the copies．For example，
bcc Mr．Jackson
6．Postscript
If you wish to add something you forget or for emphasis，you may usually add the postscript two lines below the carbon copy notation．Postscript may be preceded by “P．S．”，but this is not strictly necessary．In business letters，postscript is not commonly used，while in personal letters，it frequently appears．This item is usually used in the informal styles of letters．
The addition of a P．S．should，however，be avoided as far as possible，since it can appear as afterthoughts，indicating a lack of planning．But studies show that postscripts are one of the first things people read and remember，especially when it is handwritten．It sometimes serves the purposes as a message that requires emphasis，or as a personal note．For example，
P．S． ： You get 5 ％ discount if you book the space by the end of this month．
P．S． ： The sample will be mailed to you tomorrow．
A sample of a letter containing almost all of its elements is given below．
